Ocean Avenue Friday Notes

• 06/14: OAES PTO Annual Spring Fair, 2-4 PM
• 06/16: Annual Egg Drop at OAES, starts at 9 AM (Grades 3-5) and 9:45 AM (Grades K-2)
• 06/17: Fifth Grade Farewell Celebration in the Gym, 9:15 AM
• 06/17: Last Day of School for Students, 11:10 AM Dismissal
  
  

⭐ Here is the link to BREAKFAST/LUNCH MENU. It will be a bag lunch on the last day of school.

⭐ Here is the link to the DISTRICT CALENDAR for the 2024/2025 and 2025/2026 school year.

Are you looking for a tangible way to volunteer at OAES? Do you want an on-going yet low demand opportunity to stay involved at school? Have an interest in vegetables? Know or want to learn more about native plants? There’re a few ways to tap in: Join the garden team, sign up to be a summer waterer or mower, or send us your ideas!

Join the garden team!

We’re looking for a couple more OAES caregivers to join us in taking care of and planning for the OAES vegetable garden and native plantings.

Help to:

• select, plant and harvest vegetables,
• water the vegetables and any newly installed native plants,
• weed the raised and ground beds,
• spread compost and mulch as needed,
• generally tend to the OAES garden, and
• think creatively about the space!

We rely on our OAES community to water the vegetables over summer break and do the occasional weeding. You may have seen these appeals before and may have pitched in. We thank you!

We’ll still need waterers (and weeders) and are now also throwing out an appeal for folks to mow if they can, though this last isn’t as urgent. You should still sign up even if you won’t be able to mow!

CLICK HERE to sign up to be one of our OAES Summer Gardeners!

I am reposting my piece again on the Summer Meals Program to ensure all families have this information readily available. Students will be sent home with a paper copy of the Summer Meals Program for your reference, which includes a map of all summer meal site locations, as well as a Portland Community Food Resource Guide. Please note the revised map below.

The Portland Public schools will be operating various summer meal sites at 11 locations across the city of Portland this summer.

Meals are the same for all children regardless of race, color, national origin, sex, age or disability, and there will be no discrimination in the course of the meal service.

All children and teens 18 years and younger may receive a nutritious meal free of charge to be enjoyed on site.

Most sites will be begin serving on Wednesday, June 25th. Meals will be provided on a first-come, first-serve basis, at any of the following meal site locations.

Learn more: https://ow.ly/MQfp50W3Lu8

There is no meal service on Friday, July 4th.

In the summer, many children lose the free and reduced-price meals that they get at school. SUN Bucks provides families with a $120 EBT benefit for each eligible school-aged child to buy groceries when school is out of session.

SUN Bucks is designed to supplement families’ grocery budgets over the summer. Most eligible children will receive these benefits automatically, but some families will need to apply. This program occurs in addition to free meals that children of all ages may access at summer meal sites in their communities. Learn the details.

What a fun time we had at Field Day! An immense thank you to our parent volunteers, students, staff and to our physical education teacher, Mr. Boss, for organizing this end of year fun experience. We observed great teamwork, communication and smiles among all grade levels and are looking forward to a future Field Day!

Below are some pictures from Ms. Weeks' fourth grade class during a few of their Field Day activities.

Fourth graders got to discover what small animals the owls at the Maine Wildlife Park in Gray prey upon. The Maine Wildlife Park saved up about 30 owl pellets for us and we dissected them to look at the bones left behind after digestion.

The Fifth Grade Celebration will be held at 9:15 AM on the last day of school, June 17th! We look forward to seeing our fifth grade families there! Congratulations to this amazing group of students!

We are down to 123 missing library books! We always appreciate getting them back, even if they're found in the summertime (or sometimes years later!). Thank you to everyone who has helped with returning library books this year. It makes a difference and is very appreciated.

Thank you for a wonderful year in the library. Please encourage your students to keep reading over the summer, and check out the resources in our Summer Reading page.

I look forward to hearing about all of the wonderful summer reading adventures in the fall!

Here are some wonderful ways for students to stay engaged with books this summer!

Check out the document below for information on how to access FREE eBooks, audiobooks and library resources.

Ms. Eva will be coming around to classrooms with details, but as always, feel free to get in touch with questions.

All students in middle school need documentation of a doctor’s physical exam to participate in ANY school sport. Please make an appointment for your child to have a well child physical exam before September 1st.

Talk to your doctor about vaccines for your child. Ask for copies of any shots received and a “sports clearance” note. Provide copies to your middle school nurse.

Your child will need a physical exam every 2 years to participate in sports in middle and high school. Feel free to contact me if you need help finding a doctor or making an appointment.

Carrie Haber, RN

School Nurse, OAES

With warmer weather fast approaching, please remember these few tips to help protect yourself and stay healthy this summer!

• Keep hydrated;
• Seek shade when possible and/or wear a hat;
• Apply SPF 30+ sunscreen and reapply frequently;
• Apply bug spray and/or wear long socks or pants when playing outside;
• Nightly tick checks especially around hairline and behind ears;
• Continue to wash your hands frequently;
• Always have a grown up around when playing near/in water of any depth; and
• HAVE FUN and get outside! :)

A big thank you to The Locker Project for their partnership since 2017 in providing food every Friday to be sent home with our students each week. We couldn't have done it without the amazing support of Ocean Avenue's social workers and volunteer extraordinaire Kate, who picked up and delivered the bags to Ocean Avenue each week.

Please check out the report below to read more about this partnership
and to learn about how many OAES families were helped this year!

Mark your calendars! The Pride Portland! Parade is on Saturday, June 21, this year, starting at 1:30 PM from Monument Square in Portland. Come out and celebrate with the Portland Public Schools as we join the parade to march for acceptance, equality, and inclusivity. Look for the PPS yellow school bus parked on a street near Monument Square and come about an hour beforehand to help decorate.

All students, staff and families are invited to participate by either riding in the bus or walking with it in the parade to reiterate that PPS supports people for all of the awesome aspects of their identity. Everyone is welcome. Come represent your school and the district in the parade! Go to the Pride Portland! website for more information on parade details.

Check this page for summer reading programs for babies, children, teens, and adults.

Stop by your favorite PPL branch to learn more about summer reading activities including special giveaways and prizes. To be eligible for prizes, participants must be in PPL’s service area, but feel free to use our materials for your own reading challenge.

Get started with your summer reading today!

We hope you'll join the OAES PTO at the Annual Spring Fair on Saturday, June 14th from 2-4 PM!

This is a community event (free to all) with exciting activities planned such as an inflatable obstacle course, snow cones, glitter face paint, and more! This is the perfect time to connect with the OAES community and have some fun!

We could use your help making this event a success. Please sign up to volunteer HERE. Shifts are short - just 30 mins and this is a great way to get involved with low commitment.

Cleaning out your closet and not sure what to do with those clothes that don't fit? Putting away winter items that won't fit next season? We can take those!

Please bring gently used clothing items (all seasons) to the Spring Fair this Saturday and the PTO will donate these to the Ocean Avenue clothing closet. Thanks in advance for supporting our school community!

If you are an auction item winner and have not picked up your winnings, please contact Kim at Kimberly.turgeon@gmail.com to arrange this.

• OAES PTO Facebook Page
• OAES PTO Instagram Page

The PTO is trying to reach a goal of 100 monthly donors who are willing to give $1-$10 each month. Can you help?

During the 2024-2025 school year, we were more eager than ever to support our students and teachers, and look forward to continuing this in the 2025-2026 school year. If a teacher wants to do a special project with their class, we want to be able to say YES! If the library wants to add to their collection, we want to be able to write the check. If a grade level wants to go on a field trip, we want to fund it. If there is an opportunity to bring a visiting artist to the school, we want to make it happen.

Here are some enriching projects, field trips, and important items previously funded thanks to our Dolphin's Cove donors:

• Provided funds to replace all lost library books throughout the school year.

• Supplied funds for school garden upgrades and maintenance including 200 new plants.

• Sent third graders to the Desert of Maine for an ecological learning experience.

• Covered the membership cost for our school nurse with the National Association of School Nurses. One benefit of membership is the VSP Eyes of Hope® gift certificate program which covers a comprehensive eye exam and, if prescribed, new glasses at a VSP network doctor's office for students in need.

• Brought a Portland Symphony Orchestra Kinderkonzert ensemble to perform for the K-2 students. The brass quintet performed The Circus Ship, the beloved children's book story by Chris Van Dusen, while introducing students to this family of instruments.

• Sent second and third graders to a vibrant production of Wabanaki Stories at Merrill Auditorium featuring five Wabanaki artists coming from several different nations and traditions.

• Organized monthly teacher appreciation events for OAES staff including an ice cream truck, treats for teachers in the staff room, a gift card raffle, and an espresso cart service.

• Paid membership fees for Ruth’s Reusable Resources, a free store for teachers connecting them with surplus furniture, paper, books, office supplies and computers.

• Funded a visit from award-winning children’s book author and poet, Samara Cole Doyon, who is both a second-generation Haitian American and a deeply rooted Mainer.

• Covered the cost of math team t-shirts for fifth graders.

• Organized and funded our school spring fair with an inflatable obstacles course, snow cones, face painting, photo booth, martial arts demos, and lawn games.

• Covered costs for books from Maine Student Book Awards and Chickadee Book Awards to be added to our library.

Thank you to each of our current donors for the consistent support.

Please consider joining Dolphin’s Cove if you can!

• https://donorbox.org/dolphinscove-2-3

Email: westme@portlandschools.org
Website: https://oceanavenue.portlandschools.org/
Location: 150 Ocean Avenue, Portland, ME, USA
Phone: 207-874-8180
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oaesportland